This Is Tech Support?

My computer kamikazied to smithereenies and it took me with it!

Over the weekend, my new computer did indeed kamikazied itself to smithereenies and I spent a chaotic two hours getting it fixed.

Short version on how it broke: I turned it on, it did its spiel while uploading updates, it rebooted, it froze, I did a cold reboot, it crashed.

So the first thing I did after not being able to fix it, was to take it where I had originally bought it from: Staples.

Talked to the tech guy and happened to mention that it was under warranty. He said that I had to call a 1-800 number because if he had to work on it, he would charge me. So he gave me the brochure in question and I went home to call Staples tech support.

After talking with them for a few minutes, I was told that I had to call the manufacturer because my computer had a one year warranty and theirs didn't kick in until that one expired (this is call #1). I was given the 1-800 and transferred to them.

Went through the voice menu and after I'd stated what kind of computer it was (HP Elitebook), got transferred to the business tech support line (this was call #2).

At call #3, I talked to the tech support guy, and we had a pleasant one hour conversation fixing my computer.

Among the wonderful things that I found out from him, beside him being located in Albuquerque (heat wave) was that the warranty expired on my computer about three months prior to me buying it in May. He gave me a number to call on Monday (call #4) to get the warranty info straightened out. He also gave me the tech support number for my computer (potentially call #5 and beyond) should the need arise in the future.

My computer? Well, this major league Luddite did an outstanding job of following step-by-step instructions, which was directly due to me giving him serious information overload on the various headaches that were popping up on the screen, and about one hour after I had called him, my computer was fixed. Don't ask me to repeat what it was I did, but it had to do with using the Windows 7 disc to fix said computer crash.

Suffice to say, I have a new company (Hewlett-Packard) to like and buy products from. I already have a printer from them that is about 8 years old and it shows no signs of slowing down.

I will note that while normally I have a low tolerance of being transferred to multiple places that usually ends up doing diddly/squat for me. However, since this was a brand new computer that I took a helluva lot of time  specifically searching for (I really detest Windows 8 in all of its dysfunctional glory) a OS that my job is already transitioning to and that I had some familiarity with.

Now the only thing left to buy by the end of the year is Word '13 for the new computer, which will make my year complete. Total dollars spent on this new computer thus far:

1} Newly refurbished computer: $300
2} Service warranty: $90
3} Mouse: $12
4} USB extension port: $14
5} Flash drive (8GB): $8
6} Surge protector: $14
7} Word '13: will cost anywhere from $75 (Amazon) to $140 (Staples)

Yay me.